His Brother's Girl
by That Nanda
Summary: Rin finds herself with an unusual babysitter. From the tag-team who brought you the epic "Bishies Without Shirts", Nanda and Kira.
1. An Unlikely Pair

His Brother's Girl

By Nanda and Kira

Chapter 1 - An Unlikely Pair 

"Rin? Rin! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!" Jaken screeched, looking about frantically. Sadly, his panicked screams were of little use, for it seemed that the louder he called for her, the more his voice was drowned out by the rolling thunder and the pounding torrents of rain steadily assaulting the earth. 

"Where are you, you little fool?! This is no time for games! Rin?! Riiiiiiiiin!" 

__

'Oh this is not good, not good at all…' he thought to himself as he checked inside the hollow of a fallen log._ 'Sesshoumaru-sama is going to be very angry with me if he returns and finds that stupid girl missing. He might… Gah! I'm too frightened to even think about what he might do! I have to find her!' _

Grabbing tightly onto the reigns of Au and Un, he tugged insistently at the lumbering beast, urging it's tree-trunk legs into a slow, deliberate plod. 

__

"Riiiiiiin?! Stop hiding from poor Jaken-sama! Are you trying to end my life?! Riiiiiiiiin! Riiiiiiiiin…..!"

As it turned out, the little fool in question had not gone very far at all. She was maybe a half a mile away, hidden in the dark recesses of a tiny stone cavern. The thunder and lightning had frightened her, and she had abandoned the toad youkai in search of shelter from them and the driving rain both. It had never occurred to her to let Jaken-sama know where she was going. She'd made a habit of wandering off while in his company, and he'd always managed to find her before, so why should this time have been any different? 

As the wind outside the small mouth of the cave began to pick up, she was beginning to realize that this time _was_ different. She'd left well over an hour ago, and yet here she remained, alone and scared, the lightning casting frightening shadows on the wall as she sat whimpering, warm tears rolling down her cheeks as she waited in the darkness to be rescued.

A few miles away from where the small child crouched, cringing with fear at each loud shock of thunder, another 'stupid girl' was causing her protector grief over her absence. 

"Damn that girl!" he swore as he raced through the forest at a full tilt, artfully dodging the trees in his path. _'Why is it that every time we get a lead, she has to go home?! And what the hell is 'Geometry' anyway?! Next time she wants to learn about trees, I'm gonna throw her up one! _ Stopping to land on a likely candidate, Inuyasha looked up at the dark and turbulent sky. 

"What was the big rush anyway?" he wondered out loud, closing his eyes and letting the rainwater wash down his face, cooling his temper as well as his features, which were over-heated and a tad flushed from his argument with Kagome, followed by his flight into the forest. "It's just a little rain…" 

As the words were leaving his lips, there was a loud sizzling noise, and a streak of lightning raced down from the sky, striking and igniting a large ginkgo, three trees to the left of where he sat at that very moment. 

"Oh shit…" he gasped, his eyebrows creeping up toward his hairline. "Ok, so maybe this _is_ a little extreme…" In another instant, he was on the move again, only this time, he was racing to get out of the forest. The rain that had been a comfort to him only moments ago was now really starting to piss him off. It had thoroughly soaked his hair, and his bangs were drooping in his face, nearly blinding him. The wind has also picked up, and the ferocity with which it now blew, matched with the chill in the air, was causing a hot, throbbing ache in his ears. He was just beginning to wonder if coming so far away from the village had been a good idea, when he spotted a small cave a few yards off to his right. If it was dry and unoccupied, it would serve him better than Kaede-baba's hut. The humans and that brat kitsune were staying there, and he wasn't in the mood for their well-intentioned abuse at the moment. As he approached the small cleft in the rock wall, he sniffed cautiously, having learned the hard way early on in his youth that you don't run blindly into strange, dark caverns. 

Rin heard a small noise just outside the mouth of the cave, and her eyes widened in fear, her pupils dilating even further than they already had in the gloomy darkness. 

"…anno…Jaken-sama?" she whispered hopefully, barely daring to let the words escape her mouth. After a few seconds of straining her eyes, she could just make out the silhouette of a figure as it stood, unmoving, in the entrance. There was no doubt about it now, someone was coming in. A very tall someone, and a someone who was most definitely _not _Jaken-sama. Torn between screaming for help and staying silent in hopes that she would not be discovered, Rin crouched down lower, trying to disappear behind the large rock she was sitting against, and breathed out softly one last time,

"…w-who's there…?" 

His ears were aching, and they still rang from the cold wind outside, so he did not hear the tiny voice. That didn't change the fact, however, that he was becoming fully aware of another presence within the obscurity of the cave. 

_'Something's here… and_ _I know this scent…'_ he said to himself, taking a few quick sniffs of the cave's dense, stale air. There was something definitely human about the smell, and yet… there were trace scents of a familiar youkai, not so dissimilar from his own… As he took another cautious step into the small cavern, the smell became stronger. The scent was confused, mixing provocatively with the smells of ningen and fear, but he finally recognized it for what it was. His right hand coming around his body to rest on the hilt of Tetsusaiga, he breathed into the darkness… 

"Sesshoumaru." 

She heard the faint snuffling noises of the intruder, and knew that he was scenting the area, trying to find her. It was a sound that she had become very familiar with while traveling in the company of the Inuyoukai. Unable to resist the urge, she peeked her head out a fraction from behind the rock to catch a glimpse of this invader. She watched with dreadful curiosity as the creature attempted to sniff her out, turning its head from side to side, its body tense and rigid. Just as she was about to duck back down into her hiding place, a bolt of lightning flashed at the cave's entrance, illuminating the intruder from behind and revealing a long mane of silver hair. Then, as if answering her timidly asked question from only moments before, she heard a deep male voice softly whisper "Sesshoumaru."

Rin's heart leapt with joy. Sesshoumaru-sama! Not only had he returned far earlier than she had expected, but he had come to find her as well! No longer afraid of the darkness or the storm, she leapt out of her hiding place with a delighted squeal and ran out to greet him, throwing her arms around the youkai lord's legs. She knew that he usually objected when she was overly affectionate, but she had been so frightened, and was now so relieved to be rescued by him, that she couldn't help herself. As she squeezed, hugged and cuddled his knees, repeating his name happily over and over, it was a full thirty seconds before she realized that his waist was not nearly as high up as it should have been… 


	2. Getting to Know You

Chapter 2: Getting to know you…

"You're not Sesshomaru (-sama)..." they said in unison. 

"Hai!" they both said as Rin slowly backed away from him.

"You're that idiot Inuyasha!" she exclaimed as another flash of lightening lit up the cave. The following thunder made her hug him again in fear; until the fear of who he was won over and she released him. She backed away from him while he turned away to study something outside their shelter. 

Ignoring her insult as if she never uttered it, he turned to face her and said, "Well I see you know who I am...thanks to my idiot brother. Now what's your naaa...?"

He looked at her as she interrupted him to exclaim. "Sesshomaru-sama is NOT an idiot! Jaken-sama maybe...." she looked at him slyly as she said that. "But Sesshomaru-sama is most definitely NOT an idiot!"

"Hai, hai…! By the way what are you doing here all by yourself? I mean if Sesshomaru is NOT an idiot... Then how did he manage to loose you?" he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Sesshomaru-sama had to go somewhere and he left Rin-chan in Jaken-sama's care..." She looked at him again. "Jaken-sama is the one who got lost...Rin-chan left him with An and Un...and then Rin-chan was hungry and Rin-chan went to go find something to eat and then it started raining and the thunder and lightening came and Rin-chan got scared and there was this cave and Rin-chan ran inside as it was dry and Rin-chan is still hungry...."

"Amazing you do know how to take a breath when you talk....don't you? Oh now what? Don't cry!" Dropping the sarcasm as he came over to her; sitting there he was at a loss as to what to do with the bawling girl-child.

She wailed on getting louder if that was possible and as he sat there helplessly Inuyasha was reminded of Kagome. He realized her tears also made him feel just as helpless. So sitting there as he tried to ignore the little girl's outburst he idly wondered what Sesshomaru did when faced with her tears. Since nothing came to mind as he couldn't see the girl carrying on like this in his brother's presence; so he probably never had to deal with it. Then it came to him and he realized the one thing that always made Kagome stop. When he thought about it, it always made him stop too when he was a child...

So he moved closer to where Rin sat crying on the floor of the cave and he tentatively put an arm around her shoulders. She turned into him and cried some more before she realized what she was doing.

"Oi Inuyasha! Get off Rin-chan! Sesshomaru-sama says no one is to touch Rin-chan! For whatever reason...unless they're trying to save Rin-chan!" She cried full of childish indignation.

"Okay...okay! Gomen! I promise I won't lay a hand on you again..." He said amazed at how fast the waterworks stopped. "Geeze...I all I did was put my arm around you and pat your shoulder and...Okay, okay I won't touch you." He tried not to smile as she glared at him.

"Are you still hungry?" he asked in an effort to lighten the mood. The hanyou figured if he was going to be stuck in here with his brother's Ningen brat then the last thing he wanted is her getting mad enough at him to start wailing again.

"Hai...Rin-chan is still hungry...why?"

"Donno...maybe when it lets up a bit...I can go see if I can find us something to eat..." He said as he gave her a sideways glance.

"Ooooh...That is very kind of you..." She looked back at him thoroughly puzzled at his behavior. So far he had acted in a way that was totally different from the way she expected him to act. She wondered when he was going to make his move and end her short life and she lamented the fact that by the time Sesshomaru-sama found her it would be too late for the Tensaiga. Still he was acting in a way that was very much how she remembered her oyajii would act except he never acted annoyed at anything she did. That was more like how Sesshomaru-sama acted and she started to relax somewhat in the hanyou's presence. "Perhaps he is afraid to harm me for fear of inciting Sesshomaru-sama's revenge...and yet when Rin-chan thinks about it..." she thought as she sat there quietly next to him. "Rin-chan has seen him behave like this to the strange Ningen girl he travels with... Rin-chan doubts the taiji-ya-sama would allow him to touch her. Any yet....well who cares as long as he doesn't hurt Rin-chan and he goes and gets some food soon..." she blushed as her stomach rumbled. She hoped it didn't sound as loud as she feared it did. She did however hope that he would take the hint and go get some food. "Gomen..." she whispered softly. "But Rin-chan is terribly hungry..."

'''s Okay...but I really don't feel like getting any wetter than I already am... Are you really that hungry? Or can you wait a bit...I mean if I get sick on you..." he rolled his eyes at the face she made upon hearing that. "I mean if I up and get sick... Then I could get stuck somewhere far away from here and then you'd still be hungry..." he smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner as she looked at him doubtfully.

"Crap!" he thought. "Where is Kagome when I need her? Stuck in her village studying trees...Geeze how stupid is that? They must really be a bunch of idiots if that's what they make you learn there...I mean...what's to know about trees? They're good to sleep in, they give you tons of nice cool shade when it's hot and they're the perfect thing to pee on." 

"Daijoubu...Inuyasha...? You're very quiet...so are you planning on getting Rin-chan some food soon?" she asked before squealing in fear at the rolling thunder and snuggling closer to him. "Maybe you're right...Maybe it would be better if you waiting a bit longer..." She looked up at him and he found himself smiling.

"Geeze... I wonder how Sesshomaru puts up with her.... She seems so independent and then she turns around and gets all clingy...and if I remember correctly... Sesshomaru wasn't one for 'clinginess'...Still...there must be something about her that intrigued him." he looked away as he sat there thinking for he was at a loss for what to do with her. He shrugged as he closed his eyes and leaned back listening to the simple song she sang about his brother just under her breath. He found her soft voice soothing and he was amused at the words of the song until she started singing about what an idiot he was.

"Oi Ri-in!" he stretched her simple name into two syllables. "I hate to tell you this but I'm not an idiot! I don't care what your precious Sesshomaru-sama told you…but I'm a lot smarter than he thinks I am! There's no way I ever fell out of a tree on my head! Not now, not then, not ever! And I do too know how to count without using my fingers and toes! Shit! I know how to take care of myself and guess what? Sesshomaru-kusotare didn't even have to lift a finger to teach me!!!" he glared at her.

"Sesshomaru-kusotare?! You dare call the great Sesshomaru-sama an arsehole!!! You're an even bigger idiot if you think I'm going to let you insult him that way!" She glared back at him until she realized just who she was arguing with. Looking away from him she sat there and sang on just a little louder about what an idiot Inuyasha is. She went on and on getting louder and louder as she edged away from him. She figured if she was loud enough she wouldn't hear all the growling he was doing at her. Also if she got really loud enough then there was always the possibility Jaken-sama would hear her and come rescue her. So she did her best to ignore him and went on with a few verses about how great the hanyou's brother is just for good measure.  Finally the hanyou had enough and he exploded.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You're getting on my nerves with your shit!!! I've had about enough of your singing and you're going to stop right now before I…" he looked her in the eye just in time to see them well up with tears.

"Oh shit!" he swore to himself. "Now she's turn the tsunami back on again! Shit! I wonder if she pulls that crap on Sesshomaru all the time….if she were my brat I think I would have killed her long ago as this shit gets real old too fast!" he thought as he sat there annoyed with himself for making her cry again. He soon found himself holding his ears as her high pitch wailing was starting to make them ache again. 

So he tried singing to her as he figured anything was worth a shot and if it didn't work he could always kill her and the hell with his brother. "Inuyasha's an idiot and Jaken is too…but the biggest idiot 'round here is the one called Sesshoooo-maruuu…." He then smiled at her to see if liked it, but all he got for his trouble was a dirty look. "At least she's stopped crying…." He thought as he desperately tried to think of something else to add to the song. Coming up with nothing he simply repeated himself in the hope that at least if it proved annoying enough she'd respond. 

She looked at him sideways; eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You know your song is really awful…not to mention the fact that you can't sing to save your life…."

"Nani??"

"Hai…it was one of the worst things Rin-chan has ever heard…..and trust me, Rin-chan would know as Rin-chan's heard Jaken-sama sing and that is definitely NOT pretty…but you know…he actually sings better than you do!" she turned to face him and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Why you little shiiii…… you're just trying to make me mad…aren't you?" He looked at her hoping she'd say yes.

"No….you really can't sing….you can come up with a descent rhyme…but you can't sing…you know you should hear Sesshomaru-sama sing! Now that's singing!"

"Sesshomaru…singing…." He snorted as he tried not to laugh. "Now don't make me laugh…. I don't recall Sesshomaru…singing…." Then it hit him as he did. In fact she was right if his memory wasn't playing tricks on him, as now that he thought about it, he could just hear the faint notes of a lullaby in his head. "Okay so the bastard can sing… big deal…."

"It won't be as long as you remember that… so when are you going to get food for Rin-chan?"

He sighed. "As soon as it stops raining… I promise…okay?"


	3. Why? Why? Why?

Chapter 3 : Why? Why? Why?

"And when will that be?" the little girl squeaked impatiently.

"Well how should I know? What do I look like, a lightning beast?"

"Don't know…what's a lightning beast? Are they scary? They must be scary, lightning's scary."

"Keh, not that scary! I've killed a few!" Inuyasha boasted, puffing out his chest a bit. 

"Oh…" Rin sighed disappointedly. "Then they can't be _that _scary…"

"Oi!" Inuyasha snapped. "What the hell is your problem with me? Don't forget who I am, kid! If I get hungry enough, I eat little brats like you!" 

Inuyasha glanced over at the girl from the corner of his eye, a little anxious that his harsh words would open up the floodgates again. Then again, he was half hoping that they would, because when you got right down to it, she was supposed to be frightened of him, damn it! But partly to his relief, and partly to his chagrin, instead of biting down on her lip and trembling in terror, his own "Keh!" was tossed back at him as she rolled her eyes up to meet the cave ceiling. 

"No one who sings as badly as you do could ever eat anybody." 

Inuyasha stared at her, slack jawed and bug eyed as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to think up a suitable retort. Finally, beyond all frustration, he managed to bark out,

"T-that doesn't make any sense! What does being able to sing have to do with it?!"

"Well, if you could open your mouth wider, then you could sing better. But since you can't even open your mouth wide enough to sing properly, then it's doubtful that you could eat somebody as big as Rin-chan." she explained matter-of-factly.

"Yeah?" he growled, raising an eyebrow. "Well what if I tore you limb from limb first, and then ate up all the pieces? Huh? Answer that!"

"You wouldn't do that." she said calmly.

"How the hell do you know?! I've ripped plenty of people apart with my bare hands, little girl, what makes you think you're safe?"

"Because you promised that you wouldn't touch Rin-chan again, remember? It would be kind of hard to tear someone into bite-sized pieces without touching them! Anybody can see that!"

"Well I'm a youkai," Inuyasha shot back at her triumphantly. "and youkai have been known to lie!"

"You're a youkai?" Rin asked skeptically. "Jaken-sama said that you were a bastard hanyou."

"…"

"What is a hanyou?"

"They're monsters! I'm a monster, and you should be afraid of me! Why aren't you afraid of me?!" he demanded.

"Rin-chan could never be afraid of someone with kitten ears, Inuyasha no baka. Why do you have kitten ears? Was your mama a kitty? I saw this pretty kitty once, she had two tails and I wanted to keep her, but she kept trying to eat Jaken-sama."

"I don't have kitten ears!" Inuyasha roared at the girl.

"Yes you do! Haven't you ever looked at your own reflection when you take a bath? They're right on top of your head, silly." Rin said plainly, reaching up to touch the triangular ear that sat temptingly closest to her. Inuyasha leaned away from her grasping fingers and shot her one of his best scowls.

"No! I mean, yeah, I know they're up there, they're my ears! But they're not kitten ears! I'm an Inuyoukai, just like Sesshoumaru. It's in my name, for crying out loud! Now who's the baka?"

"You're not like Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin said, eyeing him levelly. "He's pretty, and he doesn't have pointy ears on the top of his head. So why do you have those pointy ears, if your mama wasn't a kitty?"

"What difference does it make?" he huffed. "Leave it be, they're just my stupid ears."

"Betcha don't even know…" she grumbled under her breath.

"It's because I'm a hanyou, ok?! Half youkai. That makes me different."

"Oh. What's the other half?"

"Ningen! What else did you think it would it be? Tanuki?" 

The girl was silent for a few seconds, considering this, then she shrugged and piped up again, "Still don't get it… Can Rin-chan touch them?"

"No." 

Rin turned away, biting her lip in disappointment. Then, a few minutes later, she turned to look up at him again. Her eyes were sparkling hopefully and she looked as if she'd come up with a most brilliant idea. 

"Inuyasha no baka, if you let Rin-chan touch them, then you can touch her ears in return!"

"Keh! Why the hell would I want to touch your stupid ears?"

"They aren't stupid, they're beautiful!" the girl cried indignantly. Arms folded in the sleeves of his haori, the hanyou glanced over at the ningen girl, giving her a quick once-over. 

"Tsch. They look like boring old ears to me…"

"Well, they're not kitty ears…" she admitted. "…but please? Please let Rin-chan touch yours! They look so soft…"

"What is it with you stupid girls and my ears?!" he groused, tossing his head in irritation. "Get a cat!" 

"Well there was that fire kitty, but like Rin-chan said, she kept trying to eat-"

"Gods, enough already! Just be quiet for a few minutes… Do you think you could manage that?!"

"Why is your face all red, Inuyasha no baka? Are you hot? It's not hot in here… Actually, Rin-chan is getting cold." As if to illustrate this fact, Rin hugged her own small body with her tiny arms and made a show of shivering miserably. 

"Oh for the love of…" Inuyasha sighed to himself, working at the ties of his haori. "It's always something with you, isn't it? Well, here." he said, surrendering his coat. Rin favored it with a distrustful look that spoke volumes, namely that she'd rather put on a coat of seaweed than anything that had been touching his body.

"What? Take it." he grumbled, thrusting the jacket at her impatiently.

"It's all wet." Rin whined, pushing it back at him. 

"Only on the outside. The inside's dry and warm. Now take it and shut up."

"No." she protested, putting her hands out in front of her, palms out in refusal of the jacket. "it probably smells bad." 

Inuyasha frowned. In a flash, he had pulled back the arm holding the haori to his chest, hiding it away from the little girl, almost protectively. 

"I don't smell bad." he said softly. "If anyone smells bad, it's you, because you reek of _him_. Mangy brat… Guess that's what I get for trying to be nice, huh?"

Rin was teetering somewhere on the edge of anger and guilt, a very uncomfortable place for anyone, but especially confusing and difficult for someone as young and inexperienced as she was. She stared timidly at the grown boy sitting about a foot away from her who was now refusing to look in her direction. He was shivering almost imperceptibly, now that he was dressed only in his light-weight, white kimono, but rather than put his coat back on, he fisted it into a relatively small bundle and held it tightly against his chest, as if refusing to wear it himself. She wanted to ignore him like he was ignoring her, especially after that last remark about her being a mangy brat, but she could tell that she had upset him in some way and now she was unsure about whether or not he was going to take care of her as he had promised to, in not so many words. 

"…anno…Inuyasha no ba-, ah, that is, Inuyasha-san?" 

When she received no answer, she tried again, this time, playing up to what she hoped was his protective nature. 

"Inuyasha-san, Rin-chan is still cold and hungry."

"Yeah?" he said finally, breaking the heavy stillness with his coarse voice. "That's tough, kid. Good luck with that." Not to be outdone, the girl's next attempt was a shot at his pride. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama always keeps Rin-chan warm, and her belly stays full, too!"

"Oh yeah. I bet he's great…" the hanyou said indifferently. Rin bit down on her lip again and furrowed her eyebrows, slightly troubled. That hadn't worked, either. Time for a last resort; death threats. 

"Hai. You know, Sesshoumaru-sama would be _very angry_ if Rin-chan starved…or froze to death."

"I see…" the stubborn hanyou said quietly, and for a moment, Rin thought that she finally had him beat, but then he simply replied, "It's a good thing I don't really give a shit, ne?" 

"You are nothing like Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin accused angrily, turning her back on the hanyou to pout.

"Good thing." he sighed again. _'Or else you'd be dead by now, kid.'_


	4. How can I annoy you? Let me count the w...

Chapter 4: How can I annoy you? Let me count the ways….

The hanyou sat there and stared at the girl, watching intently as she sat there and pouted. He was amazed at how much of a pain in the ass she was, and the fact that his older brother tolerated her and her nonsense. "Shit if she were my pet Ningen, I think I would have strangled her long ago as she soooo damn f##king annoying…yet there's got be something there…something that must be useful cuz I just can't picture Sesshomaru letting her hang around just for the sake of hanging around…." He thought. "She's not even a full grown Ningen for Kami's sake….and wait a minute Sesshomaru hates being around children…as I should know from first hand experience…Damn it girl! What is it about you, that has my brother so fascinated that he keeps you around….."

"Hunh? You were saying something…"

"Hai! Just when you had Rin-chan convinced you're not a baka-kusatore…you do something stupid like ignore Rin-chan! What Rin-chan was saying is 'It sounds like it stopped raining'…and since Rin-chan is hungry and you promised you would get Rin-chan something to eat when it stopped…..well Rin-chan was wondering when Inuyasha-saaan-ma is going to get something?" She looked up at him hopefully. 

He sighed. "How do know I'm not going to leave you here and just go away if it stopped?"

"But you promised!" she whined.

He rolled his eyes. "But I also told you Youkai lied!"

"Well Rin-chan also pointed out that Jaken-sama said you're a bastard Hanyou and you said that was a monster and since you NEVER said monsters lie…." She eyed him levelly as if daring him to interrupt her and telling her otherwise. "So… since you're a monster with kitten ears, Rin-chan doesn't believe you can lie…besides Sesshomaru-sama is a Youkai and he NEVER lies!"

Inuyasha snorted with laughter at that. "Never lies?! Shit! Sesshomaru-sama is so full of shit, that his eyes are brown! In fact Sesshomaru-sama wouldn't know the truth if it walked up to him and bit him on the ass!"

"Nani? Sesshomaru-sama's eyes aren't brown, baka, they're gold like yours! Besides Sesshomaru-sama would NEVER let anything bite him on the ass!…And besides  Sesshomaru-sama never lies to Rin-chan… he's always kind to her…he keeps her safe and warm and her belly full and let's her snuggle up next to him at night to keep warm….and he never lets Jaken-sama do that!" She said with a smile. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…you told before how great he is… Don't you have anything else to tell me?"

"Rin-chan might…if you let her touch your ears!" She flashed her most innocent of toothy grins. 

"What's with you and my ears? Shit! I told you before you couldn't touch them! Don't you listen?" his eyes flashed with annoyance. "Sorry little girl, no one but Kagome plays with them!" he thought. 

Rin sniffed back a few tears. "You don't have to be so mean about it! And now look what you did! Instead of going out and making yourself useful by getting some food for Rin-chan while the rain stopped….you had to sit here and yell at Rin-chan…" She wiped her eyes. "Rin-chan is still hungry and now it's raining again!" Just like the storm going on outside, Rin had one going on inside as she sat there crying softly to herself. 

Fearing that she would get louder if he did nothing, the hanyou said, "Okay... what if I go see just how badly it's raining out there…and you know what… I'll even leave this here," he pointed to his haori that was now lying on the ground between them. "So you know I'm coming back, okay?" he looked at her as if hoping she'd stop crying once his words sunk in. 

"You'd really go look…and go too if it's not too bad…? Arigatou! So when are you going….?"

"What are trying to do, get rid of me now?"

"Noooo…but it would be nice to have something to eat….don't you eat anything? Sesshomaru-sama never eats...no wait…he does eat a little bit…but mostly he gives all the food to Rin-chan. Do you give all the food to the Ningen girl you hang out with?"

"Nani?"

"Baka! Rin-chan said, 'Do you give all your food to the Ningen girl you hang out with?' Well… she is Ningen and we need to eat and all…and Inuyasha-san…I have to pee…where can Rin-chan go?"

"Nani? How the hell should I know? Can't you use a bush?" Inuyasha ran his hands up the sides of his face until they came to a rest alongside his temples. There he pressed until he quieted the headache that was threatening to make his head explode. "I mean Kagome always uses one…and not what?"

"There's no bush in here as it's a cave Inuyasha no baka…and it's raining really hard out again…and Rin-chan has to pee…really badly too." 

The hanyou stared at her as if he couldn't believe what was happening to him. He felt like he was living in his worst nightmare. "No correct that…Sesshomaru's worst nightmare." He thought miserably. 

"Well…why don't you just go outside and pee and come back quickly…I'll even wait until you're done."

"You're not going to watch Rin-chan are you? That baka hentai Jaken-sama did once and Sesshomaru-sama killed him and then he revived him again…It was very funny too! But are you sure Rin-chan will be safe outside by herself without you watching over her…?"

"Keh! Like I've never seen a Ningen girl pee before…" he muttered out loud to himself.

"EEEEEEEWWWWWW! That's disgusting! You're worse than Jaken-sama! He said he was just was curious…and you…you…eeewwww!"

"Nani? I never said that!" 

"Yes you did! Rin-chan heard you! You watch that Ningen girl! What other disgusting things do you do with her?"  
  


"Nani?!" the hanyou exclaimed as if he couldn't believe his ears. 

"Rin-chan said…"

"Yeah, yeah! I heard what you said! Why do you want to know for?"

"Rin-chan was just wondering…anyways Rin-chan still has to pee! Not to mention the fact Rin-chan is still hungry…."

"Here!" Inuyasha picked up his haori and handed it to her. "Put this on so you stay dry and I'll help you find a bush and I promise not to look okay?"

"Hai…" she said as she eyed him up and down as if doubting his intentions. Still a full bladder won out over having to make in the cave, so she accepted it and put it on.  "What are you doing?" she asked as she watched him remove his inner kimono. 

"I'm just taking that off so it'll be dry when we get back…that's all. Now let's go as I thought you said you had to pee really badly." He looked at her as if daring to torture him with something else. 

"Hai…Rin-chan does. Anno…Inuyasha-sama…Rin-chan was wondering if maybe we can go look for something to eat while we're there?"

Inuyasha looked at her while he took his hand smacked himself in the forehead with it, and then let it slide to a stop over his mouth. Sighing loudly he moved it back over to his throbbing left temple. "Only if you promise to shut up and behave…."

"Okay… let's go as Rin-chan can't hold it much longer….!"

"Hai!" he half said half sighed as he followed her out into the storm. Luck was with them as they managed to find a bush that wasn't too far away from the mouth of the cave. 

"Careful you don't pee on my…"

"Gomenasi…Inuyasha-sama…But Rin-chan thinks she got some on the sleeve…"

"Shit!"

"Rin-chan doesn't have to make that! How many times does Rin-chan have to say that? Can we find some food now? Rin-chan's still hungry!"

"Rin-chan's still hungry…Rin-chan's still hungry…" the thoroughly soaked hanyou said as he watched her looking around for something to eat while regretting the fact he lent her his haori. 

"Let's go Inuyasha-sama before Rin-chan gets sick from being out here."

"Shit! That's all I need!" he swore to himself. 


	5. Because a girl's gotta eat

Chapter 5 - Because a girl's gotta eat…

"You're right. That's it. Go back to the cave!"

"But Rin-chan is huuuuuuuungry!" she whined, throwing her arms up and down at her sides in agitation, flopping the long sleeves of his haori into the mud.

"I KNOW! Go take a nap or something, I'll get some food."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. What were you planning to do anyway, besides chatter too much scare away the prey?" 

Shooting him a withering glare, Rin stuck her tongue out at him and walked away. She returned to the cave to sit just inside the entrance, watching the rain fall as she tried to wait as patiently as she could. Good to his word, Inuyasha returned before less than an hour had passed. He ran in out of the rain, dropping down onto all fours and shaking himself brusquely, casting droplets of rainwater off in all directions. Rin frantically ducked beneath the haori, trying not to laugh, as he did look very much like a puppy when he did that, and not at all like the threatening monster he claimed to be. When he was finished, she eagerly peeked out from underneath the coat to see what he had brought for her. It wasn't until he stood up again that she spotted the fat rabbit dangling limply by it's legs from his left hand, it's head and neck jutting out from it's body at an impossible angle. 

"Oh nooooo!" Rin cried, "Why did you have to go and kill a fluffy little rabbit?"

"What? I thought you said you wanted to eat!" Inuyasha growled, his chattering teeth making the low rumble sound even choppier than it already was.

"Rin-chan can't eat a bunny!" she wailed in protest, turning her head from the pitiful sight of the rabbit's snapped neck. 

"Not only can you, but you will! I worked my ass off chasing this goddamn thing around in the rain, and now we're gonna eat it! And you'd better hurry up and get used to the idea cause there won't be anything else!" 

"Well…how?" the girl asked, her hunger slowly bringing her around. "Rin-chan can not eat it raw, Inuyasha no baka. We have no fire! And Rin-chan knows this for a fact, because she is still freezing cold!"

"What the hell do you want from me?!" he roared, his eyes flashing crimson for the briefest of instances at her accusatory tone. "I can't do everything at once, you know! I was kind of busy chasing your dinner through a thorn bush!"

"G-gomen, Inuyasha-sama…" the child nervously gulped, backing down contritely. Then, in the smallest, meekest voice she could manage, she asked "Is there anything that Rin-chan can do to help?" 

"Yeah…" the hanyou sighed heavily, letting his anger escape with the breath and dissolve out into the atmosphere. "Go look toward the back of the cave and see if you can find any dry brush from an old nest or something like that. Someone or something must have used this place as a home at some point. Dried out bat droppings work well, too." 

"That's disgusting, Inuyasha no baka." Rin wrinkled up her nose.

"Maybe, but that stuff catches fire like nothing else, so if you can find any, bring it here."

"But how are you going to light it? Jaken-sama always uses the staff of heads to light _our_ cooking fire."

"Hmph. Don't worry. Kagome, that girl I'm traveling with? She doesn't like to eat her meat raw any more than you do, and she also seems to be under the impression that I'm incapable of starting a fire on my own. I keep finding books of matches tucked into the folds of my yukata whenever I come back from a bath. Personally, I don't get it. Meat tastes better when it's raw, and cooking it takes out all the healthy stuff that makes whelps like you strong…but what are you gonna do? You ningen are strange."

"Matches?" Rin asked, puzzling over the strange word that held no place in her limited experience. 

"You'll see…Now get going. You're right, it _is_ cold in here." 

Without looking to see if she would do as she was told, Inuyasha dropped back down into a crouch and began to clean the rabbit, tearing the flesh from the hide with his long claws. Unable to watch the brutalization of what had been, up until about an hour ago, an adorable woodland creature, Rin did as she was bade and went off to the back of the cave in search of dry kindling. 

"Look, Inuyasha-san! You were right!" she called happily a few minutes later, returning with her little arms full. "Rin-chan found an old dry nest, all full of twigs and straw at the back of the cave, just like you said!" 

"Did you find any bat droppings?" he asked, looking up from his bloody task. 

"umm… nope. There weren't any…" Rin mumbled, shaking her head and averting her eyes from him.

"Liar." Inuyasha quickly looked back down at the newly fleshed rabbit in his hands before she could see the subtle smile of amusement playing at his lips. Placing the meat aside on a nearby rock, he went about the task of digging out a pit for the fire. As he labored in the dirt, hunched over, Rin noticed for the first time that his back looked funny. She discreetly inched her way forward until she was able to see clearly for herself what was wrong. 

"Does that hurt?" she asked quietly, not wishing to antagonize him any further.

"Does what hurt?" he muttered over his shoulder, refusing to break his stride.

"Your back. It's full of thorns."

"Oh that. No, not really."

"It's all bloody."

"Well that's what happens when you run through a thorn bush without your shirt. Let that be a lesson to you, kid."

"Rin-chan would never go running around without her shirt on, Inuyasha no baka."

"No, I'm sure you wouldn't, ningen girls don't tend to do that…" he said, thinking of Kagome. _'Maybe if they did, I'd be a lot less frustrated all the time… or maybe more frustrated…damn.'_ His digging and his thoughts were interrupted by the feathery touch of her tiny hands on his back.

"Hey, no touching the monster…" he scolded ineffectually. 

"Rin-chan is pulling out the thorns…hold still." 

"I'll do it later. Those little hands of yours are cold."

"You wouldn't be able to reach them all. Besides, you couldn't possibly feel Rin-chan's cold little hands, Inuyasha no baka. Your body is just as cold."

"Mm. Someone stole my coat. And then to top it all off, I went running around in the rain like an idiot without a kimono. I'm not exactly sure how I could let something like that happen…" he said sarcastically, "usually I'm a lot more sensible."

"Inuyasha-san…" Rin said softly, placing the palms of both hands flat on his back. 

"Are you finished back there?"

"Oh." she startled, pulling her hands away. "hai…"

"Then go get my kimono." She ran back to the front of the cave to get it, almost tripping over the long sleeves of Inuyasha's haori in the process. 

"This isn't very heavy, Inuyasha-san. It's not going to keep you very warm, even if it _is_ dry." She said, bringing the robe back to him.

"Maybe not," he said, "but _these_ will help." From within the layers of white fabric, Inuyasha pulled out a small square packet, the color of his yukata. 

"Oh…is this matches?"

"Hai. Watch this." Grabbing a handful from the pile of brush that Rin had left near his feet, Inuyasha placed a small, loose bundle of straw in the center of the pit. He then opened up the packet in his other hand, revealing rows upon rows of tiny paper sticks with bright red tips. He pulled one away from the rest and closed the packet again, then turned it over to reveal a long black strip on the back, running the entire length of the bottom. Grasping the paper stick between his finger and thumb, he ran the red tip of it across the strip in one fast, fluid motion. Suddenly, to her great surprise, there was a smell of sulfur in the air and the tiny paper stick had ignited.

"AH!" Rin cried happily, clapping her hands together. "Inuyasha-san, it's magic!"

"Hai! Hand me those sticks, quick now!" Inuyasha bent down, holding the match to the kindling and blowing on the tiny flame gently, encouraging it to grow. A few wispy tendrils of smoke floated up to tickle the inside of his nose, and with another gentle puff from his lungs, the pile of straw finally caught. He then tented the larger sticks loosely around the small flame, and sat back on his heels to watch his own handiwork play itself out properly before him.

"See? Nothing to it." He said as he pulled the light kimono over his shoulders and tucked it into the waist of his hakama. His tone may have been a little smug, but he felt that he had earned the right to gloat a little. It was the first time all day that he could remember feeling anywhere near happy or satisfied. 

"Now we can get warm _and _eat something. How do you like that, Rin? Rin?" 

She was standing beside him, and their heads were level with one another, crouched down as he was. She was nibbling on her bottom lip again, and her eyes were shimmering with some unspoken emotion. He was almost afraid to ask.

"What is it now?" 

"_Arigatou_, Inuyasha-san! Rin-chan is _very_ sorry that she was mean to you and said that you smelled."

"Hmph…anno… you also called me an idiot." he muttered softly, shifting uncomfortably on the balls of his feet.

"Rin-chan is sorry for that to!" she wailed, suddenly letting go with another fit of tears and throwing her arms around the startled hanyou's neck. He let her indulge in her weepiness for a few minutes, but he soon tired of it and disentangled himself from her embrace. 

"I think we should stick to the original plan, kid. Sesshoumaru's not going to be very happy if you come back smelling like me." 


	6. Waiting and wondering

Chapter 6: Waiting and wondering...

"Arigatou Inuyasha-sama! That poor little bunny was very tasty! Although Rin-chan feels a bit bad about eating something so kawaii….Rin-chan normally eats fish or vegetables. Once Rin-chan had fun eating watermelons! Sesshomaru-sama had found this lovely watermelon patch!" She flashed him a mischievous grin. "Know what? Rin-chan had the best fun spitting the seeds out at Jaken-sama! He was so mad but he never did or said anything!"

"Really… what did Sesshomaru say about you abusing his vassal?"

"Hunh? Rin-chan never abused anyone! People used to abuse Rin-chan…" she trailed off quietly, lost in a memory of a time before she came to live with Sesshomaru. 

"Oh…that's terrible but ningen are like that..." he said softly as he too remembered suffering as a young whelp at the hands of ningen who feared him. "By the way what happened to those people….? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" the hanyou said uncertainly as he wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she had been abused in her short life. 

"They were all killed by wolves….those wolves killed Rin-chan too! Then Sesshomaru-sama came and revived Rin-chan! And Rin-chan has been happy ever since! Sesshomaru-sama is the best! Rin-chan still can't understand why you don't like him…he is your brother! Rin-chan would be very happy to have a brother like Sesshomaru-sama to always look after her…" She laughed. "Then again Sesshomaru-sama does that, ne?" 

"Hai! But let me tell you, you wouldn't want to have a brother like Sesshomaru. He used to torture the hell out of me when I was just a pup!"

"Rin-chan refuses to believe that Sesshomaru-sama ever tortured you... Are you sure you're not making this up?"

"Believe what you want kid...but I know what really happened..."

"Don't be sad Inuyasha-sama....Rin-chan is sure Sesshomaru-sama will be nice to you now for taking such good care of Rin-chan for him!" she said as she reached up and touched his cheek. They sat there in silence thinking about it, a minute before they both laughed.

"That would be something eh, Sesshomaru being in my debt...." the hanyou smiled at the thought.

"Hai...Rin-chan guesses so..." she looked at him uncertainly.

"Never mind...it was just a thought..."

Meanwhile somewhere a few miles away from where Rin was happily spending the time out of storm getting to know her benefactor's brother, a small green rather dejected looking figured scoured the area.

"Rin!!! Rin-chan!!! Where are you, damn it! This is no time to be hiding on Jaken-sama! Come on Rin-chan! Where the hell are you? This is so not funny!!! Rrrriiiiiinnnn!!!! If you don't show yourself now, I'm going to tell Sesshomaru-sama all about how you hid on me and made me run around in the rain looking for you!!!" the tiny toad Youkai sneezed. "Damnit! If I get sick from this...I'm going to see to it you pay for this you stupid brat! And don't think Sesshomaru-sama is going to stop me either! Now where the hell are you?! Rrrrriiiiinnnn!!!!"

He sloshed around a bit more in the rain, sneezing his brains out as he desperately avoided the bigger puddles. "I could be hanging out in some nice warm cave somewhere, making sure that brat stayed put, but noooooo I'm stuck out here in the rain looking for her! Shit she'd better turn up soon or else..." he paused in his mutterings to look around while he sneezed up a storm. 

He walked around some more, calling her name over and over without success. He did this for the better part of an hour or so, with the strange result of him being not so far from where Rin was listening to Inuyasha recount the ways Sesshomaru used to make his young life miserable...

"So you're telling Rin-chan, that Sesshomaru-sama would refuse to play when you were little?! Rin-chan refuses to believe you! Sesshomaru-sama would never be so mean as to take you out and leave you in the middle of the woods when you fell asleep and make you find your own way home…"

"No! It's true. I swear it… Well if you don't believe that one...I have another one for you."

"Hai! Do you think you should add another stick to the fire?"

"Hunh?" Inuyasha looked at the fire before adding another stick. "Okay where was I?"

"You were going to tell Rin-chan another story about Sesshomaru-sama! And this time...could you maybe tell Rin-chan a true story?" she looked at him mischievously.

"Okay, okay! He gave me a bath once and while he was washing my hair he tried to drown me! You know…he would also refuse to share his food with me and there were plenty of times I went hungry because I wasn't strong enough to take it away from him…. You know he also left me to fend for myself when I was around five…that was the last time I saw him…until the day I cut off his arm..." the hanyou said. 

"Why would you do that Inuyasha-sama? Rin-chan doesn't understand...."

"Never mind...I thought it was the right thing to do at the time." He sighed, then changing the subject he went on. "You don't think anyone is looking for you now, do you?"

"Jaken-sama probably is...but Rin-chan doesn't know where he is though...remember Rin-chan told you he was lost...." she sighed and looked thoughtful for a minute. 

"Inuyasha-sama...do you think Sesshomaru-sama will be able to find Rin-chan; once he knows she's missing? What if he can't find Rin-chan; what will she do?" she sniffed back a few tears as she realized Jaken should have found her by now.

"Don't worry Rin...Sesshomaru will be able to find you! He always manages to find me..." the hanyou smiled at her as he added silently in his head, "Whenever I wished he wouldn't have."

"Hai...you are right Inuyasha-sama...Once Sesshomaru-sama finds Jaken-sama, it won't be long before he finds Rin-chan too!" she wiped away her tears. "Now tell Rin-chan another story! Please..."

"Hai…what would you like me to tell you?"

"Donno...just tell Rin-chan something... Please Inuyasha-sama!"

"Well…how about I tell you about the time I helped Sesshomaru defeat some Neko-Youkai that wanted to take over our Oyajii's lands…It seems our Oyajii had battled them before and they lost…and for some reason they felt they had to try again…."

"Was Sesshomaru-sama happy you helped him?"

"No…now that I think about it…he kept telling me to leave…"

Meanwhile as the little toad Youkai was searching for the lost girl-child with more effort put into it than he used to find the Inutaisho's tomb, a tall figure dressed in white was making his way towards him.

Jaken continued sloshing around in the mud desperately calling for Rin. He was by now at his wit's end and he didn't know what he longed for more; finding Rin or finding himself put out of his misery. He wondered who he'd find first; Rin or Sesshomaru-sama, as he looked under every bush and rock he came across. It was while he was having yet another sneezing fit as he tried to avoid stepping in a sea of mud puddles that he tripped and fell head first into a rather deep one. Lying there he hoped against hope that when he picked himself up, he would look up and see Rin's smiling face. However the smiling face he saw wasn't Rin's...

"So why does my brother let you follow him around?"

"Rin-chan really doesn't know...she thinks it's cause Sesshomaru-sama likes having Rin-chan around! Why?"

"Donno...was just wondering...it's just that as far as I know Sesshomaru hates Ningen...as well as children." Inuyasha poked at the dying fire. "Since you're kinda both...I don't know...I was just wondering why he would even bother with you that's all..." the hanyou frowned as he tried to make sense out of what he knew about his brother compared to what she told him. "Anyway it's not important..." he said softly.

"Are you sad that Sesshomaru-sama likes Rin-chan more than you, Inuyasha-sama?"

"Nah...it's okay...So what are you going to do when it stops raining?"

"Rin-chan doesn't know...do you think she should go look for Jaken-sama?"

"Donno...if it was me...I say the hell with finding him." he smiled. "But then you're not me...and I'm sure Sesshomaru would miss you..."

She smiled at that. "Think so?!"

"Hai...Well you are his girl aren't you?"

She sat there in the firelight thinking about what the hanyou just told her...

"Sesshomaru-sama!"

"Hai Jaken." the Inuyoukai was still smiling much to the toad Youkai's discomfiture. "Where's Rin...?"

"You're smiling....So that means whatever you went for worked out alright, ne?" Jaken muttered.

"You didn't answer me...Jaken. Perhaps you didn't hear me as you were too busy talking to yourself, ne? I asked you where Rin is?" Sesshomaru looked at his vassal. "She's fine and you were out getting her something to eat, ne?" Sesshomaru still smiled, but Jaken noticed there was now a nasty glint to it.

"Oh Shit! I'm dead now....for good too! You finally did it, Jaken! You finally found the one thing that would piss off Sesshomaru-sama big time!" he thought. "Hai! I was just out trying to get her something nice and tasty to eat! I thought I saw a nice tasty rabbit hiding under those bushes...so if you don't mind...I'll just go and catch it!" he said as he inched his way away from the tall Youkai lord. 

"Jaken...before you go where's Rin? I'll go wait with her for your return..." He smiled again as he was sure he would be waiting somewhere nice, warm and dry.

"Oh shit! What do I tell him? Think Jaken, think!" the toad youkai thought as he tried not to panic as he had no idea where the brat was...


	7. Come round at last

Chapter 7 - Come round at last 

"_What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" -W.B. Yeats_

After a few all to brief moments of soul searching, during which time his life did in fact flash before his eyes, Jaken came to the conclusion that it was better to be a man and own up to his horrendous mistake, than to betray the man to whom he owed his very life. In fact, it was infinitely better to tell the truth and hope for a mercifully swift, albeit violent, end rather than be spared for the time being and caught later in a lie. In his mind's eye, he could see with frightening clarity the horrors that would befall him if that were to happen. It was with this in mind that he bowed his head before the youkai lord, fixing his eyes on a bare patch of ground near Sesshoumaru's feet while he silently prepared himself for the inevitable, steeling himself for his immanent demise. A low, mournful sigh escaped his beak as he opened it to speak honestly and seal his fate.

It was at that moment, that split second between confusion and clarity where his life was hanging in the balance between what had been said and what was about to come forth, that the gods finally smiled upon Jaken. After all of the fruitless searching, the hours spent scrambling about in the freezing rain, shouting her name until he was hoarse, plodding through the mud and muck in abject misery, it finally dawned on him where Rin must have run off to.

"The Cave!" he shouted out joyfully. "Sesshoumaru-sama, there is a small cave no more than a mile from here, probably less. We passed it on the way to this forest! Rin is hiding- er, ahem, _waiting_ there!" Jaken had never been so positive of anything in his entire life. After spending countless afternoons in her company, then later having to search for her as she ran off, following whatever whimsy she'd taken it into her head to follow, he'd learned her habits quite well. Rin _had _to be there, why hadn't he seen it before? She _had_ to be there, for if she wasn't…

"Good. Then that is where I shall be waiting as well. Be quick about it, Jaken." Sesshoumaru turned away without another word, heading in the direction that the toad had pointed. His gait was slow but purposefully so, and he breathed deeply, searching for her scent as he walked. He wasn't about to alarm Jaken, the toad seemed to be wound up enough as it was, but he was slightly troubled by the pervasive scent of the hanyou that seemed to be all over the wood; that had, in fact, lead him into the clearing in the first place.

"So by the time it was all over, Kagome was hugging the life out of them both and Shippou realized that his rival was actually a little _girl_, the _sister _of those lightning beasts I killed!"

"Nande? Alittle girl youkai?!" Rin squealed with delight. "I bet she was really Kawaii!" 

Inuyasha shrugged. "When you've seen one brat, you've-"

"Well, Rin-chan would really like to see a little girl youkai!" she interrupted before he could sully the moment with his customary grumpiness. "That story was a lot better than your other ones, Inuyasha-san. _Much_ better!"

"Good, because I'm done. I don't know anymore."

"That's alright. Rin-chan is warm and her eyes are starting to get fuzzy anyway."

"It is getting pretty late…" Inuyasha looked out toward the mouth of the cave, noting how difficult it was steadily becoming to see the grove of trees across the clearing from them. Though it hadn't made an appearance once that day, he knew that the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon maybe half an hour ago. Already, the sky hidden behind the clouds was fading from deep blue to black. 

"Why don't you get some sleep kid?" he suggested when her usually tiny mouth stretched forth into a wide, cavernous yawn that could have rivaled the small opening of the cave itself. 

"Noooo…" she whined softly. "Rin-chan has to wait for Sesshoumaru-sama to come rescue her."

"Rescue? From what? You don't mean me?" 

Rin giggled happily at the slightly shocked expression on his face. 

"Well, you did tell Rin-chan that you were a monster. Isn't Sesshoumaru-sama supposed to rescue Rin-chan from monsters?"

"You know, just for that, I should eat you. I really should."

"If you try it, Rin-chan will run right into a thorn patch, and this time there will be no one left to pull out the thorns."

"I'll wear my shirt this time."

"No you won't" she yawned again, wrapping herself up tightly in his haori to hold in the warmth. "It's still raining and you'd get it all wet."

"So what? After I eat you, I can just wear my coat."

"Inuyasha-san…" she murmured softly, stretching out on the warm bed of what was left of the straw she'd gathered earlier that day. "…please shut up…" Within three minutes, she was snoring softly. Inuyasha kept watch, thoroughly enjoying the silent company of this sleeping Rin. It gave him a chance to think, a luxury he hadn't been allotted since meeting her. 

'_She's asleep…what should I do now? I can't just leave her here…but then I can't wait around on my ass until that bastard Sesshouamru shows up, either. Kagome would make me stay… Sango would remind me of how dangerous staying is… Miroku…? He probably would have waited until she was sleeping then grabbed the kid's ass, the goddamn lech… _

'Aw, who am I kidding?' he thought, watching as she rolled onto her side and curled herself into a little ball._ 'I can't go anywhere…'_

But as he was thinking this, Inuyasha was slowly becoming aware of a feeling of growing urgency. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to relieve some of the building pressure on his bladder.

'_Except to take a piss…' _he mentally amended, rising silently to his feet._ 'I can go do that…' _

"But I won't go far." he whispered to the girl, despite the fact that she was now senseless to his promise. 

Inuyasha walked out into the damp night, and was surprised to find that it had actually stopped raining. He was further pleased to find that the thick canopy of cloud that the sky had been hiding behind all day had started to break up, creating a startling pattern of midnight blue on black, shot through with the occasional dazzling white of a star. 

'_If he doesn't come for her tonight, then at least it looks like tomorrow will be a fine day for traveling.'_

Best of all was the fat, ice-blue moon that almost seemed to pop out of the dappled sky, throwing some much needed light down onto the small clearing, as if illuminating the nearby bushes specifically for his needs. With a one last quick, appreciative glance up at the moon, Inuyasha strolled over to the bushes to relieve himself. He sighed contentedly a few minutes later, shaking himself off and tucking everything, including his kimono, back into his hakama, all the while thinking '_It's the simple things…'_

It was in the middle of this thought that he began to sense somethingominous, but it wasn't until he heard the faint noise just behind his left shoulder that he took the feeling as anything more than slight paranoia at having to leave his back exposed to the dark forest, and by that point, it was already too late. As he spun around, a clawed hand with god-like strength latched onto his throat, cutting off his breath and any noises of alarm or protest that he might have been tempted to make. His hands flew up to claw at the arm that lifted him off the ground, and yet, even as he drew blood, his back was slammed into the jagged, rocky outcropping of the outer cave wall with blinding force. 

Inside the cave, Rin awoke with a start, as if sensing the silent struggle just outside the mouth of the cave. Finding herself completely alone in the darkness, she called out softly, 

"Inuyasha-san?" When he didn't answer, she screwed up her courage and headed for the entrance, determined to find him and give him a piece of her mind for leaving her alone like that after he'd as much as promised not to. 


	8. I will save you!

Chapter 8: I will save you!

__

"Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 

"Inuyasha-sama...daijoubu?" she whispered in the dark. "Inuyasha-sama...where are you?" Rin said again as she paused and picked up the rock she nearly tripped over. Holding it her hand like a weapon for it helped make her feel braver; she silently made her way to the front of cave. She was afraid and yet angry that she couldn't get a response from the hanyou. As she walked on, Rin wondered if the cave's owner had come back and eaten her new friend Inuyasha-sama. Then she wondered if he had maybe waited until she was asleep before silently slipping away to leave to her fate. "But Inuyasha-sama promised he wouldn't leave Rin-chan alone..." that's when she heard the sounds of a struggle.

"What should Rin-chan do? What if Inuyasha-sama is in trouble?" she stood there rooted in fear trying to will herself brave enough to go on. Swallowing her fear in a huge lump, she hefted the rock in her hand and before her moment of bravery passed, she called out again. "Inuyasha-sama…! Daijoubu?! Don't worry Inuyasha-sama...Rin-chan will help you!" She rushed forward and was amazed to see Sesshomaru.

"Sesshomaru-sama...Rin-chan is so happy you found her! See Inuyasha-sama, Rin-chan told you he would find her! Arigatou Inuyasha-sama for watching over Rin-chan!" She stood there torn between her desire to hug the tall Youkai lord for finding her and hugging his hanyou brother for looking after her.

"Inuyasha-sama...?" Sesshomaru said as he came slowly over to her. 

"Hai! Inuyasha-sama took very good care of Rin-chan while Jaken-sama was lost!" She paused to take a breath and that was when he interrupted her. 

"So you're saying my useless brother actually did something useful for a change?" the Youkai lord looked from the little girl to his brother and back again.

"Hai! Sesshomaru-sama...Inuyasha-sama took much better care of Rin-chan than Jaken-sama does!" she cried. "He went and got food for Rin-chan without complaining too much...and he entertained Rin-chan when she was bored..."

"Entertained....?" Sesshomaru asked as he eyed his brother before looking back at the little girl child.

"Hai! He told stories, and he san...Daijoubu Inuyasha-sama?" Rin asked as she caught sight of the hanyou doing his best to get her to shut up without attracting his brother's attention.

Inuyasha coughed a few times before he found his voice. "Daijoubu…You know if you hadn't attacked me Arsehole... I would have told you she was fine and asleep in the back of the cave...out of harm's way. Shit!" he swore. "You'd use any excuse to kill me, now wouldn't you?"

"Who needs an excuse to get rid of an enemy..." Sesshomaru said quietly as he tried to get Rin out of the hanyou's presence. "You are sure you are unharmed...?" he asked her.

"Hai! Rin-chan is sure that someone as nice as Inuyasha-sama would never harm her!" She beamed at the hanyou before her features settled into a puzzled frown as she caught the look on his face. "Daijo.."

"Keh!" Inuyasha said as he rolled his eyes. "She's just not worth the effort of harming, Sesshomaru...Now if I were stuck looking after you... I don't think you'd fare as well." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Keh! I'd rather die first than have you look after me...." Sesshomaru also cracked his knuckles as he placed himself between his brother and the girl-child. 

"That could be arranged..." the hanyou said as he grinned wickedly.

The two demon brothers circled each other as if trying to find the other's weakness. Sesshomaru struck first using his energy whip. The hanyou then leaped neatly out of the way and as he did so he drew the Tetsusaiga.

"Sesshomaru-sama is Rin alright in there? I hope she's hungry cuz I have a nice fat rabbit...." The toad Youkai called out as he made his way into the cave.

Dropping the rabbit he grabbed the jintojo in both hands and aimed it the battling brothers. "Hold still Sesshomaru-sama so I can blast that worthless hanyou straight to hell!"

"Careful you idiot before you hit something you shouldn't!" The Youkai yelled as he unsheathed the Toukijin and prepared to use it in battle. Ignoring the girl and the toad Youkai, they inched their way out of the cave in an attempt to find a better place to battle. Swords held at the ready, the two demon brothers found themselves on a flat plain in front of the cave. They each backed away from the other as the two of them continued to stare the other one down. 

"Why don't you just take the girl and get the hell out of here Sesshomaru…"

"Nande? Could it be you are afraid I'll finally succeed this time in killing you Oto-chan…?"

"Keh! As if I would ever be afraid of you!"

"Then if you're not afraid….!" Sesshomaru called out as he came rushing headlong towards his brother. After a moment's hesitation Inuyasha rushed forward too and their blades met with a resounding crack. 

They stayed that way for what seemed an eternity, locked together in a battle of sibling rivalry gone too far, before breaking apart to launch their next attack. 

Round and round the battle went with neither one gaining the upper hand…

"Please Jaken-sama, don't do it! You could hurt Sesshomaru-sama if do!" Rin pleaded as she and the toad Youkai stood at the mouth of the cave watching the battle below. _"You could also hurt Inuyasha-sama if not careful…"_ she thought.

"Sesshomaru-sama would be pleased if I helped rid him of that worthless half-breed brother of his!" Jaken said as he desperately tried to take aim. 

"But Inuyasha-sama was so nice to Rin-chan while you were lost…Rin-chan can't…watch this…." She said as she started to cry again. She then sat down and buried her face in her hands.

"Why are you going soft on that bastard for? You know he was the one who cut off Sesshomaru's arm for no good reason!"

"No! That's not true! Inuyasha told Rin-chan the story behind that!"

"Inuyasha told you a bunch of lies Rin! Lies! Think you idiot! Do you really think that worthless hanyou is going to tell you the truth when he knows a lie would work better?"

"Rin-chan doesn't know what to think…Jaken-sama, Inuyasha-sama told Rin-chan that Youkai tell lies…" She looked at him full of uncertainty as somehow in her heart she had the feeling he and not the hanyou was lying to her and yet the seeds of doubt that Jaken planted were starting to take root as she considered what he said. "Demo…Jaken-sama…why would Inuyasha-sama lie to Rin-chan? He was very kind to her and if he had wanted to harm Rin-chan why would he be so nice…? Rin-chan is confused Jaken-sama…" She looked at him with eyes full of uncertainty as she tried to sort out her feelings. 

"Why…because he wanted to lure you away from Sesshomaru-sama so that he could get him in a position to kill him! Do you think he really wanted to cut off Sesshomaru-sama's arm? Hell the bastard wanted to cut off Sesshomaru-sama's head and he missed!"

"No! Rin-chan refuses to believe that to be true! It can't be true…" She trailed off softly as she looked at the battle unfolding in front of her.

"Keh! I can see your mind has been poisoned by his lies! What do you think Sesshomaru-sama would do if he heard you speak like that?!"

Rin turned to address the toad Youkai but as she did so she caught a flash of movement on the battlefield. She turned back in time to see Sesshomaru slip on the wet grass and go down as the Toukijin went flying. In the blink of an eye Inuyasha held the Tetsusaiga at his throat. Sesshomaru lay looking death in the eye as the Tensaiga pulsed at his hip. 

"I guess it's time to end this once and for all, eh Sesshomaru…?" the hanyou said quietly before he jerked his head up at the sound of her screams. 

"Noooooo! No Inuyasha-sama! Please don't hurt Sesshomaru-sama! Please! Rin-chan begs you!" She cried as she flew to her lord and master's side. Once there she got down on her knees and begged the hanyou for mercy.

"Rin! Leave now!" the fallen Youkai commanded. "Go now! I do not need you to beg for my life…"

"Listen to him kid and leave now…I'm sure the toad will look after you just fine…" The hanyou said as he looked away from his brother to look at the girl. It was then that she saw his eyes start to glow red.

Rin shrank back in fear for the hanyou was now in the full grip of the blood lust that sang in his veins, which was beginning to drive out all thought but the desire to end his brother's life.

"Please Inuyasha-sama…let Sesshomaru-sama go…if you must…then take Rin-chan's life instead…."

  



	9. Ongaaru, Debt of Gratitude

Chapter 9 - _Ongaaru…_Debt of Gratitude 

"Are you crazy brat?!" the hanyou growled thickly. "What would be the point of killing you and letting Sesshoumaru live? He's the one who's after me, and unlike this bastard, I don't do things deliberately for the sake of hurting people!"

"Don't you tell any more lies about Sesshoumaru-sama, you…you…monster!"

Inuyasha laughed bitterly, the red glow of his eyes fading back to blonde as she held him distracted, poised centimeters from the kill. 

"That's right…call me a monster while you're still wearing my coat! You do know that while you were napping, he was trying to kill me?! Doesn't that- uh!" Inuyasha's voice broke off in a strangled cry. Defending his actions to the little girl had left him unfocused, and he hadn't noticed that his arm, and consequently, his blade, had steadily traveled several inches to the right of its mark. Without the fire-rat haori to protect him, it had been a simple task for Sesshoumaru to rise up off his back and plunge the first two fingers of his hand through his brother's unguarded midsection. 

"Fool! Never turn away from me!" the youkai hissed, retracting his hand with a loud, sickening squelch. He rolled away as the hanyou stumbled to his knees, thrown momentarily off-balance by the shock of the attack. Within seconds, Sesshoumaru had crossed the clearing and was wielding the Toukijin once more.

Rin watched in horror as Inuyasha brought his hand up from the gaping wound in his middle to his eyes, wearing an anxious and yet almost bemused expression on his face as his own blood and Sesshoumaru's poison dripped from his fingertips. As she watched a violent shiver run through his body, she couldn't help but think that maybe it _was_ Jaken-sama who had been wrong. Inuyasha-sama had been so kind to her over the last few hours, and now Sesshoumaru-sama was trying to kill him. Rin couldn't make sense of it. They were both so nice to her, why were they so bad to each other? 

"Dirty bastard…" Inuyasha whispered, dipping his claws back into the raw wound. Then, in the blink of an eye, he whipped his hand out in an arc in front of him and sent the droplets flying off of his fingertips toward the steadily advancing Sesshoumaru. 

"CLAWS OF BLOOD!" he screamed as the droplets solidified into deadly crimson daggers, hurtling themselves directly at the youkai lord's face. More quickly than Rin's eyes could follow, Sesshoumaru deflected the blades with a blast of energy from the tip of Toukijin and an instant later was standing beside the doubled-over hanyou, his katana resting just above Inuyasha's shoulders.

"You truly are a soft idiot, Inuyasha. You should have killed me when you had the chance. Rest assured that this Sesshoumaru will not be so easily distracted."

Rin looked from one brother to the other unable to comprehend what was happening in front of her. Minutes ago their roles had been reversed and she was sure the hanyou was going to spare not only Sesshomaru-sama's life, but her own as well. Now she didn't know what to think but she did know for certain that the hanyou's life was over. She had seen that look in her lord and master's eyes before and each time someone ended up dead. So she just sat there, her eyes closed to the horror of what was happening; that was, until she heard the voice behind her.

"Well now look what we have here? You know he really is an idiot, Sesshomaru-sama! Must be all that ningen blood running through his veins! See what happens when you're an idiot Rin? You wind up getting yourself killed, that's what! And why…? Why, because you were stupid enough to show mercy to your enemy, that's why! Now watch as Sesshomaru-sama neatly separates the bastard's head from his…"

"Shut up Jaken….."

"Gomen Sesshomaru-sama….!" The toad youkai said as his gloating tone was replaced by his more usual groveling one. 

"Rin….leave us now…." The Youkai lord said quietly.

Rin however sat there rooted to the spot as she silently shook her head. Her eyes were wide and she sat there unblinking as she relived the horror of her own family's destruction. 

"Rin…."

"Now who's gone soft, eh Sesshomaru? What are you waiting for…if you're going to kill me…then go ahead and do it! What does it matter if the girl's here or not?"

"Shut up Inuyasha…!" The Inu-youkai frowned, as there was something about the way the little ningen girl just sat there staring off into space that bothered him. He knew she had seen her fair share of violence and death in her short life…but why this reaction and now of all times? 

"Going somewhere…little brother?" he asked as he caught sight of a bit of movement below him. He brought the blade of the Toukijin a little lower so that it was now a hair's breadth away from the hanyou's neck, and the katana almost sang out its desire to take his life. 

Time seemed to slow down to a stop as he stood there poised to put an end to his brother's life, and yet it also felt as if he had experienced all of eternity in a minute as he looked at Rin. Then he realized what it was…he was feeling the same emotions he felt when he saw her dead body lying there lifeless on the ground. And he realized too, with a start, that similar thoughts were also whirling in his head…but this time there was something different. This time instead of the Tensaiga pulsing and calling to him to give her back her life, the Toukijin was pulsing and calling out to him to end his brother's miserable existence. 

_"What should I do…?"_ he found himself wondering. _"What should I do…?" _

The last time he had been faced with such a dilemma, he had listened to the sword in his hand and had found himself with the not-altogether unpleasant addition of Rin in his life. In fact, he had never questioned the desires of his katanas, but had listened willingly, even when it seemed that they contradicted his own desires. One of the key elements to mastering a blade as fine as either his Tensaiga or his Toukijin was knowing how to listen for their song, and striving to understand it was the path to unleashing their true power. And right now, Toukijin was fairly screaming for the hanyou's blood. 

The answer seemed fairly obvious. There was no love to be lost between himself and the vile creature on its knees before him, that lowly, debased thing that dared to compare itself to Sesshoumaru, to call itself a son of the great Inuyoukai. From the moment its wretched ningen mother had expelled forth the foul, squalling thing from her loins, the hanyou had been his enemy. He had never questioned this. 

What was it, then, that stayed his hand? Surely not the girl? That would not do. 

"Jaken."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?" The zealous little toad jumped in a show of readiness at his master's command. 

"Take Rin away from here." There. If she would not go willingly, she would be removed. He would deal with her defiance later, though gently. She was, after all, still a child.

"Come along, foolish girl!" Jaken grumbled, rather upset that after all of the time and effort he had invested into this moment, that he was going to miss seeing the best part. He tugged impatiently at the long red sleeve of the haori she wore, a trifle disgusted that he had been forced to touch it. The thing reeked of that bastard half-breed, and now so did the girl.

Rin's eyes, wide with horror, never left the violent scene that appeared to have frozen in tableau only a few feet away. She had heard Sesshoumaru-sama's demand, and she now felt Jaken-sama's insitant tugging, but she couldn't seem to move her feet, nor tear her eyes away. 

Sesshoumaru-sama was as composed and as beautiful as ever, but it seemed now that there was a coldness in his eyes, one that had been hinted at in the past, when she cared to really look for it, but she had never really seen before, perhaps because he hadn't let her, or perhaps because she hadn't wanted to. Perhaps both. 

Poised at the other end of the long, cruel Toukijin was her new friend Inuyasha-sama, who was looking anything but composed as he strove to remain motionless beneath the gleaming blade. His eyes were the only evidence of this struggle; they darted back and forth restlessly, as if trying to figure a way out, an opening for escape, though she understood by now that he wouldn't dream of running. 

Seeing them like this, at opposing ends of the blade, Rin regretted with all of her heart that she had ever run off on her own. 

Sesshomaru stood there listening to the song the Toukijin was singing to him and he nearly missed it. The faint hum of the Tensaiga that was a delicate counter-melody to the song the Toukijin sang to him. It left him confused as he wondered which blade to listen to, for now he was the one who hesitated and his stupid brother could easily regain the advantage if he weren't careful. So he let himself become cold, numb, unfeeling as he weighed his options. Still his katanas sang on and the Tensaiga was now singing just as loud as her sister the Toukijin._ "Who should I listen to…who is telling me the truth…?" _He glanced down at his brother below and he remembered all the times in the past he had an opportunity to dispose of him like the worthless thing he was. And yet he also remembered the times when he felt something other than hatred towards the little bastard…

"Damn it Jaken! I said to get her out of here!" he said as he came out of his reverie. "Rin…Go with Jaken…now!" He kept one eye on the hanyou as Jaken struggled to remove the girl. 

But Rin refused to go anywhere without knowing the fate of her friend. She knew it was one thing to lay down one's life for their master, but it was quite another thing to ask that master to spare the life of his enemy and take hers instead. So she stood as still and unmoving as the tall Inu-youkai before her, who was now going through the very same thing she had moments before. 

"Go!" 

__

"No! Rin-chan can't Sesshomaru-sama!" her mind screamed. _"Rin-chan can't! Rin-chan has to find a way to help Inuyasha-sama! Gomen Sesshomaru-sama…but Rin-chan can't let you spill his blood…Rin-chan doesn't know why she should feel that way…but she does!"_

"Funny how she's not listening to you anymore…from what she's told me I'd have thought she'd be long gone from here by now…"

"Shut up whelp! Shut up or I will end your worthless life now!" The Toukijin fell another fraction of inch to rest totally on the hanyou's neck and the blade now vibrated with its desire to drink his blood. Just as the Toukijin burned with its desire to end Inuyasha's life the Tensaiga fought to make her wishes known and have him spare that life. Sesshomaru was half tempted to let the Toukijin have her way and then see if the Tensaiga could work her magic on the lifeless form, but something told him that if he did, that would be it for the hanyou. 

Sesshomaru closed his eyes silently imploring the girl to move, for he had the feeling the minute she did, the whole thing would be over…one way or another. So he weighed his options in the minutes that felt like hours as all of the hatred he ever felt towards his brother warred with the moments he actually felt something akin to love towards him. 

__

"He will take your place in your father's heart, but there's room inside both, is there not? What does it matter that he's able to give a moment of pleasure to old man? But he will take what is YOURS! And what if he does...he is my BROTHER after all...? Don't be stupid...if he takes it all then you will be left with NONE!" He could see images of the two of them together. Times spent in each other's company; playing ball, sharing a meal, feelings of amused annoyance when his brother would imitate him because he looked up to _him._ But the one thing that sealed the hanyou's fate was the memory of him falling asleep in his arms full of child-like trust that he was safe from a cruel world because he was there in his brother's arms...

"Get up whelp...and go." He said quietly and coolly as ever. He could have been saying anything from "the sky is blue" to "I hate cheese." for all the emotion he put in those five simple words.

"Nani?" the hanyou said as time once again seemed to move at her normal speed.

"You heard me... you imbecile...I said 'Go'..." Sesshomaru looked at his brother as he rose to his feet. It was a look that said _"I will kill you if do anything else but walk away."_ Then he walked over to Rin.

Inuyasha's hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, trying to wipe away the phantom sting of cold metal pressed against his skin. He would be very surprised if the Toukijin hadn't left some sort of mark back there, and most likely a burn.

_'I'm still alive.'_ he thought in amazement, followed a split second later by _'Why am I still alive?' _He stood numbly where Sesshoumaru had left him, watching his elder brother closely in case he should suddenly change his mind and turn back. 

Sessshoumaru did not. Rather, he approached the girl, pausing to lightly place his hand on the top of her head for a moment before running it down the back to her neck, where he grasped the red haori by its collar. With a barely visible sneer of distaste, he gave the jacket a firm, upward tug. Rin took the not-so-subtly offered hint and raised her arms over her head so that he could pull it off without damaging her. In the blink of an eye and the sound of rustling fabric, the haori was discarded, coming to land in a rumpled, red puddle a short distance from the hanyou's feet. 

"Come Rin." he heard the youkai whisper. "You need to bathe." 

Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, Sesshoumaru left the small clearing. Rin immediately followed, pausing only once to turn around quickly and wave goodbye to him, putting her entire body into the effort and flashing him an enormous, gap-toothed grin. Checking twice to be certain that neither his brother nor his toady were watching, Inuyasha cautiously raised his hand and moved his fingers a few slight inches in either direction. Then, going against all of his better instincts in what was a moment of truly unparalleled inspiration, he crossed his eyes at her and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth. Pressed for time as he was, it was the only way that he could think of to convey his thanks. He was now fairly certain that she was the only reason that he had been spared, and he wanted to leave her with something memorable. It was fortunate for them both that she knew enough not to giggle. 

As Sesshoumaru headed out into the forest, Rin turned around just long enough to wave goodbye. 

_'Sayonara, Inuyasha-sama!' _she thought, waving so frantically that were she to use any more effort, her arm might have popped off. _'Domo arigatou!' _She would have yelled it too, if she hadn't been certain that it would only serve to further infuriate Sesshoumaru-sama. She hoped Inuyasha-sama would understand. She felt much better about everything when his hand haltingly rose up to wave goodbye to her as well. She stifled the urge to giggle with happiness, then almost lost it a few seconds later when, standing there looking exhausted, bloody and thoroughly disheveled, he started making funny faces at her. She clapped both hands over her mouth just in time, but even then she soon had to turn her back on him. It was just as well. Sesshoumaru-sama was getting a bit too far away for her comfort. Without looking back, she scamper off after her lord and master. 

When she had finally caught up with them, things appeared to have returned to normal. Au and Un were plodding along, either head softly lowing from time to time, but otherwise making no other sound or complaint. Jaken-sama was babbling incessantly about something as usual…she didn't bother to tune him in and find out what, exactly. Sesshoumaru-sama was silent, apparently lost in thought. Running up alongside him, Rin fell into step with the youkai lord and looked up curiously at his cool, impassive face. 

"Arigatou." she whispered so that Jaken wouldn't hear. His expression did not change, nor did he look at her, or give any other indication that he had heard. In fact, Rin was just beginning to feel disheartened when a shift in her peripheral vision made her turn and look again, catching the tail end of the subtle rise and fall of his chin as he nodded in acknowledgement. Sighing happily to herself, Rin broke into a light trot in an attempt to keep up with his long strides, while humming under her breath the melody to a song that she would never be able to sing out loud in his presence.

'_Inuyasha's an idiot and Jaken is too…hm hm hm…' _

When he was certain that they were gone, he bent down and retrieved his haori. As it descended over his shoulders, he caught her scent on the fabric and wondered how long it would be before she no longer clung to him. Sighing through his nose, Inuyasha pulled the Tetsusaiga from where it had been impaled into the wet earth and re-sheathed it with the soft, satisfying _shick_ of blade hitting scabbard. Soon, he too would leave the clearing, and after the night he'd just had, he thought that the floor of Kagome's bedroom would be a good place to end up. But for a few more minutes, he stayed on to gaze up at the moon. 

  
THE END


End file.
